System for displaying programming information

ABSTRACT

A system for retrieving and displaying programming information in response to selection of a category of programming information. Programming information is presented via a schedule display having a category display, a subcategory category display, and a program display. The category display displays an array of category tiles representing categories of programming information. The subcategory display displays an array of subcategory tiles representing subcategories that are associated with the categories of the category display. The program display displays an array of program tiles that are associated with the subcategories of the subcategory display. A viewing panel extends along each of the displays for displaying one each of the category, subcategory, and program tiles. Classes of programming information are selected by scrolling the tiles of the associated displays until the desired class items are presented within the viewing panel.

This is a continuation of application Ser. No. 08/346,422, entiled"System for Displaying Programming Information," filed Nov. 29, 1994 onbehalf of the inventors, Keith Rowe, Frank Lawler, and Joseph H.Matthews, III, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,623,613.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The invention relates generally to schedules for programming informationand, more specifically, to a system for retrieving and displayingprogramming information in response to selection of a category ofprogramming information.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

A national information infrastructure constructed from both wireless andwired communications networks supports the communication of informationin homes and businesses throughout the country. Telephones, televisions,radios, computers, and facsimile machines are used each day to receive,store, process, perform, display, and transmit data, text, voice, sound,and graphic images. These devices are typically connected via fiberoptic cables, coaxial cables, electronic switches and routers, microwavenetworks, satellites, and other communications technologies. Thisnational information infrastructure, which may one day be expanded to aglobal infrastructure, supports the electronic transfer of a widevariety of programming to entertain, instruct, or inform receivingparties. In view of both the variety and the substantial amount ofavailable programming, a user typically uses a programming schedule orguide to select a desired program for reception (or transmission) on acertain date and time.

For example, a subscriber to cable network programming services, such aspremium cable television or audio services, typically uses a printedschedule to select a program for viewing or listening to at a certaintime period. In addition, certain cable television services supply theviewer with an on-screen programming schedule from the headend processorvia the cable distribution network. For both printed and on-screenprogramming schedules, the programming information is typicallypresented as a function of the date and time for the scheduled programs.Thus, if the subscriber is interested in viewing a sports-relatedprogram, it is necessary for the subscriber to review the time periodsfor that date to determine if a sports-related program is scheduledduring the viewing period. This time-based presentation of programmingschedule information is satisfactory only when the amount of availableprogramming is relatively limited. Furthermore, unlike the printedprogramming schedule, the user typically cannot control the order of theprogramming information supplied by an on-screen programming schedulebecause this information is supplied from a remote location via aconventional one-way cable distribution network.

In view of the advances in computing and broadband communicationssystems, it is expected that the present information infrastructure willevolve into an integrated communications network supported by advancedhigh-speed, interactive, broadband, digital communications equipment.Telephones, televisions, radios, computers, and facsimile machines willbe linked by this interactive broadband information infrastructure andwill be able to communicate and interact with other communicationdevices in a digital signal format. This interactive broadbandinformation infrastructure, commonly referred to as the "informationsuperhighway," has great potential to increase access to information andentertainment resources that can be delivered quickly and economicallyanywhere in the country. For example, it is feasible that hundreds ofchannels of "television" programming, thousands of audio recordings, andliterally millions of "magazines" and "books" can be made available tohomes and businesses via this information superhighway. In view of thistremendous expansion of available programming, the use of a programmingschedule or guide will be critical for a user to select a desiredprogram. However, as choices of programming increase, the priortime-based format of programming schedules becomes a less manageabletechnique for choosing a desired program because of the numerousprograms available for any one time period. Thus, there is a need for acategory-based programming schedule to clarify and to simplify for anaudience the process of selecting programs of interest to each audiencemember.

The present invention supplies a system of retrieving and displaying aschedule for programming based primarily upon the classes of programs,rather than the time period for each program. The programminginformation displayed by this system is restricted to those programsmatching characteristics selected by the viewer. This permits the viewerto narrow the scope of programming information supplied by the system toa more manageable number of choices and enables the viewer to havepersonal control over the displayed programming information. The presentinvention also provides a highly intuitive user interface to support theeasy and convenient selection of desired programming information.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention fulfills the above-described needs by providing asystem for presenting programming information in an efficient anduser-friendly manner based upon the classes of scheduled programs. Thisallows a user to view programming information by genre groupings ratherthan by a time-based schedule, thereby affording the user theopportunity to obtain information about a desired program from asubstantial listing of available programs. The programming schedule canbe presented as a display on a display device, such as a television or acomputer monitor. The user can control the displayed programminginformation by selecting the category for the desired program, therebyupdating the displayed programming information to match the viewer'sselection. The selection of programming information can be controlledremotely via a remote control unit or directly by another input device,such as a keypad or a touch-sensitive screen.

Generally described, the system for retrieving and displayingprogramming information, i.e., the programming guide system, presentsscheduling information for programs via a schedule display having threedisplay elements, a category display, a subcategory display, and aprogram display. The category display displays an array of categorytiles representing categories of programming information. Thesubcategory display displays an array of subcategory tiles representingsubcategories that are associated with the categories of the categorydisplay. The program display displays an array of program tilesrepresenting programs that are associated with the subcategories of thesubcategory display.

To allow the user to easily view the tiles of each of the displays, thedisplays can be located adjacent to each other. A viewing panel canextend along a portion of each of the displays for displaying one eachof the category, subcategory, and program tiles. In this manner, theviewer is presented with selected programming information divided intothree separate classes, namely broad, mid, and narrow-scope classes ofprogramming information.

A category of programming information can be selected by moving acorresponding category tile within the viewing panel. In response, thesubcategory display displays a subcategory tile representing thesubcategory associated with the selected category. This narrows thescope of displayed programming information by supplying subcategoryinformation that is relevant to the selected category.

Likewise, a subcategory of programming information can be selected bymoving the corresponding subcategory tile within the viewing panel. Inresponse, the program display displays one or more program tilesrepresenting programs associated with the selected subcategory. Thisfurther narrows the scope of displayed scheduling information to thelevel of individual programs. The program tiles representing theseprograms can be ordered chronologically to supply the viewer with atime-based view of programs associated with the selected subcategory andthe selected category.

The programming information is stored within one or more databases andis retrievable to support the display of selected programminginformation by the display system. Specifically, the category tiles,subcategory tiles, and program tiles are stored within a databasestructure on a memory storage device and can be retrieved as required tosupport the display of programming information represented by thesetiles. Thus, at least one of the subcategory tiles representing asubcategory associated with a selected category is retrieved from thedatabase in response to a selected category tile appearing within theviewing panel. In response to a selected subcategory tile appearingwithin the viewing panel, at least one program tile representing aprogram associated with the selected subcategory is retrieved from thedatabase if a program is available that is associated with the selectedsubcategory.

More particularly described, the user can peruse a selected class ofprogramming information by scrolling the tiles of one of the category,subcategory, or program displays. To control the display of one of thecategory, subcategory, or program tiles, the user can move a focus framealong the viewing panel to a location proximate to the selectedcorresponding display. The focus frame operates to highlight informationsupplied by the tile selected by the user by "framing" the tile, andsupplies a visual cue to the user that the display associated with theframed tile can be controlled. For example, to control the categorydisplay, the user moves the focus frame along the viewing panel to aposition on the category display. Upon positioning the focus frame overthe category display, the category tile appearing within the viewingpanel also appears within the focus frame. Thus, the focus frame extendsalong the boundary of the selected category tile. For this position ofthe focus frame, the viewer can scroll in a selected direction thecategory tiles, thereby supporting the selection of another categorytile for viewing within the viewing panel (and the focus frame). Similarto the representative example of the category display, each of thesubcategory and program displays can be controlled by placing the focusframe proximate to the respective display and thereafter scrollingthrough the tiles representing the selected programming information.

A remote control unit, such as an infrared transmitting device, can beused to transmit commands for controlling the programming informationdisplayed by the category, subcategory, and program displays.Specifically, the position of the focus frame can be changed or thetiles of a selected display can be scrolled by outputting appropriatedirectional instructions via the remote control unit, thereby allowingthe viewer to navigate the sources of programming information. However,other types of input devices also can be used to control the category,subcategory, and program displays, including a direct-wired keypad or atouch-sensitive screen.

Each of the program tiles can include text-based and/or graphicalinformation regarding the represented program, including name, programdate and start-time, and program channel. In addition, a program tilecan list the network responsible for supplying the program, includingthe logo or symbol for the responsible network. Another option forprogram tiles is the use of graphic images, such as information icons,to represent secondary program information, including the items ofclosed captioning, audience rating, awards, star rating, or rerunstatus. The use of information icons on a program tile reduces theamount of text displayed on the screen, which, in turn, makes it easierto locate and read program titles or names.

For another aspect of the present invention, the program display caninclude date tiles representing calendar dates to separate thetime-sorted program tiles, thereby eliminating any requirement ofsupplying date-related information for each program tile. Each date tilecan separate program tiles associated with one date from program tilesassociated with another date. In this manner, the program tiles in thecorresponding programs are grouped by both date and time. The programdisplay also can include a date status indicator that displays the dateassociated with the presently displayed program tiles.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide asystem for retrieving and displaying programming information based uponthe categories of the programming information.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a system forretrieving and displaying a schedule for programming in response toprogram characteristics selected by the user.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a system forretrieving and displaying programming information that allows the userto narrow the scope of displayed programming information to a moremanageable number of program choices.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a highlyintuitive user interface for a programming guide system to support asimple and convenient selection of desired programming information.

The attainment of the foregoing and related objects, advantages, andfeatures of the present invention will be more readily apparent afterreview of the detailed description to follow and the appended drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of the operating environment for the preferredembodiment of the present invention.

FIGS. 2, 3, and 4 are representations of a programming scheduleincorporating the user interface for the preferred embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIG. 5 is an illustration of the face of a remote control unit thatsupports the user's control of programming information displayed by thepreferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIGS. 6, 7, and 8 are representations of an alternative programmingschedule incorporating the user interface for another embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIG. 9 is a logical flow diagram illustrating the steps of the preferredmethod for retrieving and displaying programming information.

FIG. 10 is a logical flow diagram illustrating the steps of operationfor a program schedule of the preferred embodiment of the presentinvention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present invention is directed to a system for retrieving anddisplaying programming information, thereby providing a user with aschedule or guide of available programs. Although the preferredembodiment of the present invention will be described with respect tointeractive and broadcast television programming, those skilled in theart will recognize that the present invention can be used with otherforms of programming information, including radio, broadcast print,audio, games, computer software, and other combinations of audio/videoor software information. Accordingly, it will be understood thatprogramming information generally includes information for programstransmitted electronically to entertain, instruct, or inform therecipient.

Turning now to the drawings, in which like numerals indicate likeelements throughout the several figures, FIG. 1 illustrates theoperating environment for the program schedule system 10. A memorystorage device 12, such as a hard disk drive or an optical storagesystem, stores programming information in a digital format. Thisprogramming information can be supplied for the benefit of one or moresubscribers to communications services responsible for the originationor distribution of programs associated with this programminginformation. One or more databases for various classes of programminginformation are maintained on the memory storage device 12.

For programming information related to television programs, thepreferred database structure includes at least four tables, namely (1) atable containing records for each television episode, (2) a tablecontaining records for each television series, (3) a table containingrecords of program categories, and (4) a table containing records ofprogram subcategories. Each television episode is linked to its parenttelevision series and each television series is associated withcategories and subcategories which define the characteristics of theseries. These categories and subcategories are respectively representedby the program category table and the program subcategory table, whichare linked to records for the television series table by another table,the junction table. The junction table allows a one-to-manyrelationship, thereby supporting the classification of televisionprograms under more than one category or subcategory.

To support the distribution of the programming information to each ofthe subscribers, the memory storage device 12 is connected to a headendprocessor 14 via a server 16. A conductive path 18 supplies a two-waycommunications link between the memory storage device 12 and the server16. Likewise, a conductive path 20 supplies a two-way communicationslink between the headend processor 14 and the server 16. For thepreferred embodiment, the server 16, in combination with the conductivepaths 18 and 20, form a local area network that enables the headendprocessor 14 to interact with any other device on this network,including the memory storage device 12. The server 16 can be implementedby a computer running administrative software that controls access tothe devices connected to the network.

To support the tasks of updating or revising the program informationstored on the memory storage device 12, a computer workstation 24 and aserver 22 are connected to the server 16 via a communications link 26.This communications link allows a program distributor or supplier, whichtypically operates at a location remote from the databases stored withinthe memory storage device 12, to transmit programming information forstorage by the memory storage device 12 and eventual distribution tosubscribers via the headend processor 14. The communications link 26 canbe implemented by either a wireless or wired communications system. Forexample, the communications link 26 can be constructed as a microwavelink or as a conventional telephone link.

The headend processor 14 operates to control the distribution ofprogramming information stored on the memory storage device 12 and theassociated programs to one or more subscribers of associated programmingservices. The headend processor 14 is connected to each of thesubscribers via a cable distribution network 28. The cable distributionnetwork 28 is preferably implemented as an interactive communicationsnetwork. This supports delivery of programming information and programsvia the headend processor 14 to the subscriber and the delivery ofrequests for programming information and programs by the subscriber tothe headend processor 14. The cable distribution network 28 can beimplemented by a microwave distribution system, a telephone system,coaxial or optical cables, or any combination of these delivery systems.The headend processor 14 also can support the distribution of programsassociated with the programming information to the subscribers andsupport other services via a separate distribution network 29.

Those persons skilled in the art will appreciate that the programsdelivered over the cable distribution network 28 typically comprise bothvideo and audio signals. Programs can be delivered in digital format,analog format, or a combination of both analog and digital formats.However, for the preferred embodiment, the programs are delivered as astream of digital video and audio signals. Likewise, programminginformation supplied to subscribers and requests or instructions issuedby subscribers are preferably digital format signals.

Each subscriber is connected to the cable distribution network 28 via acable 30 supplied to a set-top converter 32. The cable 30 is preferablyimplemented as either a coaxial cable or a fiber optic cable. In thismanner, the subscriber "taps" into the cable distribution network 28 to(1) receive programs and programming information distributed by theheadend processor 14 and to (2) transmit requests or instructions to theheadend processor 14.

The set-top converter 32 accepts the programs and the programminginformation from the cable 30 and converts these signals to a formatcompatible for presentation by a receiving device 34, such as atelevision or a computer system. The set-top converter 32 is connectedto the receiving device 34 via a conductive path 36. The receivingdevice 34 preferably includes a display 38 for displaying both programsand programming information. In particular, the programming informationis supplied to the subscriber as a program schedule or guide via thedisplay 38.

Selected operating functions of the set-top converter 32 can be remotelycontrolled by a remote control unit 40. The subscriber can use theremote control unit 40 to select for viewing certain characteristics ofalternative user interfaces supplied by the schedule display, asdescribed in more detail below with respect to FIGS. 2-4 and 6-8. Thepreferred remote control unit 40 is more fully described with respect toFIG. 5.

Generally, the instructions transmitted by the remote control unit 40are received by the set-top converter 32 and, in response, one or moreof the characteristics of the program schedule can be controlled todisplay the desired programming information to the subscriber. Inparticular, the set-top converter 32 receives certain instructions fromthe remote control unit 40 and, in turn, forwards these instructions tothe headend processor 14 via the cable 30 and the cable distributionnetwork 28. The headend processor 14 responds by retrieving selectedprogramming information from the memory storage device 12 andtransmitting the selected programming information via the return pathprovided by the cable distribution network 28 and the cable 30. Theset-top converter 32 then supplies this programming information toupdate the schedule display presented by the display 38.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating the preferred presentation ofprogramming information by a schedule display 50. Referring to FIG. 2,the schedule display 50 includes three display elements, a categorydisplay 52, a subcategory display 54, and a program display 56. Each ofthe displays 52, 54, and 56 display separate classes of programminginformation. Specifically, the category display 52 displays variouscategories of programming information, such as "Animated," "Children,""Game Show," and so forth. Likewise, the subcategory display displayssubcategories of programming information that are associated with thecategories offered by the category display 52. For example,subcategories for the "Animated" category can include "Adventure,""Children," or "Martial Arts." Thus, in comparison to the categorydisplay 52, the subcategory display 54 displays a more narrow scope ofprogramming information.

The program display 56 displays program items that are associated withthe subcategories offered by the subcategory display 54. Thus, theprogram display 56 supplies programming information that is narrower inscope than either the subcategories of the subcategory display 54 or thecategories of category display 52. For example, the program display 56presents program-specific information, such as program title, programstart-time, and program channel. Each of these program items representsan actual program that can be viewed by the subscriber at a certain dateand time.

As shown in FIG. 2, the displays 52, 54, and 56 are located adjacent toeach other and the subcategory display 54 is sandwiched between thecategory display 52 and the program display 56. A viewing panel 58 spansthe width of the schedule display 50 by extending along a portion ofeach of the displays 52, 54, and 56. For the preferred embodiment, theviewing panel 58 is mounted in a fixed location on the central portionof the schedule display 50. In contrast, a focus frame 60, which movesalong a horizontal track of the viewing panel 58, can be positionedproximate to any one of the displays 52, 54, and 56. The viewing panel58 focuses the subscriber's attention on a selected category,subcategory, and program. In contrast, the focus frame 60 serves tofocus the user's attention upon a particular class of selectedprogramming information and operates as an indication that thesubscriber can control the programming information supplied by anassociated display.

Programming information is presented by each of the displays 52, 54, and56 via tiles, wherein each tile represents a specific item ofprogramming information. The category display 52 includes category tiles62 representing categories; the subcategory display 54 includessubcategory tiles 64 representing subcategories; and the program display56 includes program tiles 66 representing programs. The category tiles62 and the subcategory tiles 64 are preferably arranged in alphabeticalorder for the represented categories and subcategories. In contrast, theprogram tiles 66 are preferably chronologically-ordered based upon boththe dates and start times of the represented programs.

The visible portion for each of the displays 52, 54, and 56, i.e., thedisplay panel, may reflect only a subset of the entire list ofprogramming items represented by tiles. Accordingly, tiles which are notimmediately visible to the subscriber can be accessed by scrolling thedisplay in a selected vertical direction. By moving the tiles of theselected display in either an up or down direction, previously hiddentiles are revealed in one direction and previously visible tiles areobscured in the other direction. For example, the subcategory tiles 64of the subcategory display 54 will wrap from beginning to end unlessthere are less than four items of programming information for theselected subcategory. Thus, each of the displays 52, 54, and 56 can beviewed as a vertically spinning dial of tiles that supply programminginformation.

To "spin" one of the displays 52, 54, or 56, the focus frame 60 is movedalong the viewing panel 58 to one of the displays. When the focus frame60 is located proximate to the selected display, the subscriber has theoption of scrolling up or down to reveal additional tiles. For theschedule display 50 shown in FIG. 2, the focus frame 60 is locatedproximate to the category display 52, thereby allowing the subscriber toscroll the category tiles 62 representing categories of programminginformation. FIGS. 3 and 4 respectively show the focus frame 60 locatedproximate to the subcategory display 54 and the program display 56,thereby allowing the subscriber to control the items presented by thesedisplays. For the preferred schedule display 50, each of the displays52, 54, and 56 uses three-dimensional shading to indicate that a tile isscrolling off beyond the visible area of its display.

As shown in FIGS. 2-4, arrow tabs 67 can be appended to the sides of thefocus frame 60 to supply the subscriber with an indication of (1) thedirection(s) that the focus frame 60 can move along the viewing panel58, and (2) the directions that the subscriber can scroll the tiles ofthe selected display. For the schedule display 50 illustrated in FIG. 2,an arrow tab 67 is appended to the right hand side of the focus frame 60to supply the subscriber with an indication that the focus frame 60 canbe moved to either the subcategory display 54 or the program display 56.For this position of the focus frame 60, arrow tabs 67 also can beappended to the top and bottom sides of the focus frame 60 to alert thesubscriber that the category display 52 can be scrolled in the updirection or the down direction.

For the focus frame 60 located proximate to the subcategory display 54in FIG. 3, an arrow tab 67 can be appended to each of the four sides ofthe focus frame 60, thereby advising the subscriber that the focus frame60 can be moved in a horizontal direction to either the category display52 or the program display 56, and that the subcategory display 54 can bescrolled in either the up direction or the down direction. Likewise, forthe focus frame 60 located proximate to the program display 56 shown inFIG. 4, the focus frame 60 can include an arrow tab 67 located on theleft hand side of the frame and arrow tabs 67 located on the top andbottom sides of the frame. The positioning of these arrow tabs 67indicate that the subscriber can move the focus frame 60 along theviewing panel 58 to either the subcategory display 54 or the categorydisplay 52, or scroll the program tiles in a selected verticaldirection.

FIG. 5 is an illustration of the face of a remote control unit forcontrolling selected features of the schedule display. Referring now toFIGS. 1, 2 and 5, the remote control unit 40 can transmit instructionsto the set-top converter 32 to allow the subscriber to (1) move thefocus frame 60 to one of the displays 52, 54, or 56, and (2) scroll thetiles of the selected display. The face of the remote control unit 40includes a control button 70 having navigation keys 70a-d for inputtingcommands to control features of the schedule display 50. This controlbutton 70 is preferably implemented as a rocker-type switch which canoperated in four distinct positions represented by the navigation keys70a-d. Navigation keys 70b and 70d control the position of the focusframe 60 along the viewing panel 58 and navigation keys 70a and 70ccontrol the scrolling operations of the displays 52, 54, and 56.Specifically, by pressing the navigation key 70b, the remote controlunit 40 transmits a command to move the focus frame 60 to the right. Insimilar fashion, user selection of the navigation key 70d initiates atransmission of a command to move the focus frame 60 to the left.Navigation key 70a allows the subscriber to move the tiles of theselected display in an up direction, whereas navigation key 70c movesthe tiles of the selected display in a down direction. The navigationkeys 70a-d are preferably shaped in the form of an arrow to define thedirectional control functions associated with these command keys. Theremote control unit 40 can include additional keys or buttons forinputting commands to control other operations of the set-top converter32 or the receiving device 34.

In response to a command input by one of the navigation keys 70a-d, theremote control unit 40 transmits an instruction to the set-top converter32 via an infrared communications link. In turn, the set-top converter32 decodes the instruction and responds by controlling the selectedfeature of the schedule display 50. Specifically, the set-top converter32, which converts the programs and programming information delivered bythe cable distribution network 28 for presentation via the display 38,can control each of the displays 52, 54, and 56 and the position of thefocus frame 60 on the viewing panel 58. In addition, the set-topconverter 32 can update the programming information presented by theschedule display 50 by outputting a request to the headend processor 14via the return path supplied by the cable distribution network 28. Thisallows the retrieval of desired programming information from the memorystorage device 12 containing the database which maintains program guidedata.

Returning now to FIGS. 1-4, the subscriber typically selects programminginformation by first choosing the general category for the desiredprogramming information. By moving the focus frame 60 to the categorydisplay 52, the subscriber can select a category of programminginformation by scrolling the category display 52 until the category tile62 representing the desired category appears within the viewing panel58. By scrolling the category tiles 62 in a selected vertical direction,each category tile sequentially appears within the viewing panel 58. Acategory is selected when its corresponding category tile 62 appearswithin the frame of the viewing panel 58. In turn, this "resets" thesubcategory display 54 to display subcategory tiles 64 representingsubcategories associated with the selected category. The program display56 responds to the appearance of a selected subcategory tile 64 withinthe viewing panel 58 by displaying one or more program tiles 66representing programs associated with the selected subcategory if suchprograms are available for the selected subcategory. Thus, the viewingpanel 58 can display tiles representing the selected category,subcategory, and program.

In response to the selection of a new category of programminginformation, the set-top converter 32 outputs a request to the headendprocessor 14 for programming information representing subcategoriesassociated with the selected category. The subcategory display 54 isreset by the set-top converter 32 in response to receiving the requestedsubcategory items over the cable distribution network 28. Likewise, inresponse to the selection of a subcategory item, the set-top converter32 outputs a request for programming information representing programsassociated with the selected subcategory. If a program is availablewhich corresponds to the selected subcategory and category, then theset-top converter 32 updates the program display 56 in response toreceiving each program item via the cable distribution network 28. Thisallows the programming information to be maintained at a centrallocation, namely, the site of the memory storage device 12, rather thanin a memory device located within each set-top converter 32 at asubscriber's premises.

For a particular set of selected programming information, the viewingpanel 58 preferably displays a single tile for each of the selectedcategory display 52, subcategory display 54, and program display 56. Forexample, the selected category for the schedule display 50 in FIGS. 2-4is represented by the category tile 62 containing the text "Sports".Likewise, the selected subcategory is represented by the subcategorytile 64 containing the text "Basketball" and the selected program isrepresented by the program tile 66 containing the text "NCAA Illinoisvs. Indiana". For this illustrated example, the user first selected thecategory of "Sports" and subsequently selected the associatedsubcategory of "Basketball" to obtain a listing of information forscheduled or available basketball-related programs. In view of theforegoing, it will be understood that the viewing panel supplies theuser with a convenient viewing window for information items about anavailable program that is associated with the selected subcategory andcategory.

For the preferred embodiment of the schedule display 50, neither thesubcategory display 54 nor the program display 56 will change to reflectthe selection of a new category until a short default time-out periodhas expired. This prevents rapid and unnecessary updating of thesedisplays while the subscriber is navigating within the category display52. Accordingly, when a new category is selected by scrolling thecorresponding category tile 62 within the viewing panel 58, the "old"items displayed by the panels of the subcategory display 54 and programdisplay 56 fade out and "new" items corresponding to the selectedcategory fade in.

If a subcategory is selected and program-related information is notavailable, then the program display 56 becomes blank by failing todisplay any of the program tiles 66. In addition, the right-hand sidearrow tab 67 appended to the focus frame 60, which is located proximateto the subcategory display 54, is no longer shown to the user.Alternatively, the category display 52 and the subcategory display 54can be restricted to respectively display tiles 62 and 64 for classes ofprogramming information which represent available programs. Theseoperations supply visual cues to the user that program-relatedinformation is not available for the selected subcategory that isrepresented by the subcategory tile 64 within the viewing panel 58.

The preferred viewing panel 58 emphasizes the selection of the displayeditems by highlighting the associated tiles within the frame of theviewing panel. This highlighting can be achieved by coloring or shadingthe tiles appearing within the viewing panel 58 in a color that islighter than the remaining tiles displayed in the display panel for eachof the displays 52, 54, and 56. In addition, because the displays 52,54, and 56 are located adjacent to each other, the selected category,subcategory, and program tiles 62, 64, and 66 are aligned within theviewing panel 58. This presentation of the programming informationallows the subscriber to easily read the various classes of desiredinformation by beginning with a broad genre on one side of the scheduledisplay 50 and concluding with an individual program matching that genreon the other side of the schedule display 50.

Table I supplies a representative list of categories and associatedsubcategories for the preferred system. The category tiles 62 and thesubcategory tiles 64 respectively represent the items shown in thelistings of Table I.

                  TABLE I                                                         ______________________________________                                        CATEGORY           SUBCATEGORIES                                              ______________________________________                                        Animated           All                                                                           Adventure                                                                     Children                                                                      Martial Arts                                               Awards             All                                                        Children           All                                                                           Science Fiction                                                               Action                                                                        Adventure                                                                     Animated                                                                      Animals                                                                       Anthology                                                                     Comedy                                                                        Drama                                                                         Educational                                                                   Exercise                                                                      Fantasy                                                                       Fiction                                                                       Game Show                                                                     Magazine                                                                      Nature                                                                        News                                                                          Religious                                                                     Science                                                                       Spanish                                                                       Sports                                                                        Suspense                                                                      Variety                                                    Game Show          All                                                                           Animals                                                                       Educational                                                                   Children                                                                      Variety                                                    Holiday            All                                                        Magazine           All                                                                           Auto                                                                          Biography                                                                     Educational                                                                   Exercise                                                                      Health                                                                        How To                                                                        Interview                                                                     Children                                                                      Medical                                                                       Nature                                                                        News                                                                          Public Affairs                                                                Travel                                                     Medical            All                                                                           Health                                                     Music              All                                                                           Comedy                                                                        Dance                                                                         Drama                                                                         Religious                                                                     Travel                                                                        Variety                                                    Music              All                                                                           Dance                                                                         Religious                                                  Musical            All                                                        Soap Opera         All                                                                           Comedy                                                                        Drama                                                                         Spanish                                                    Sports Events      All                                                                           Event                                                                         Anthology                                                                     Baseball                                                                      Boxing                                                                        Basketball                                                                    Bowling                                                                       Golf                                                                          Hockey                                                                        Horse                                                                         Racing                                                                        Rodeo                                                                         Rugby                                                                         Soccer                                                                        Track and Field                                                               Tennis                                                                        Volleyball                                                                    Wrestling                                                                     Water                                                      Sports Non-Event   All                                                                           Action                                                                        Adventure                                                                     Auto                                                                          Baseball                                                                      Bicycle                                                                       Biography                                                                     Boat                                                                          Body building                                                                 Boxing                                                                        Basketball                                                                    Exercise                                                                      Football                                                                      Fishing                                                                       Game Show                                                                     Golf                                                                          Hockey                                                                        Horse                                                                         How To                                                                        Interview                                                                     Magazine                                                                      Martial Arts                                                                  News                                                                          Outdoors                                                                      Racing                                                                        Rodeo                                                                         Rugby                                                                         Running                                                                       Softball                                                                      Skiing                                                                        Soccer                                                                        Spanish                                                                       Tennis                                                     Sports Talk        All                                                                           Baseball                                                                      Basketball                                                                    Interview                                                  Talk               All                                                                           Business                                                                      Comedy                                                                        Educational                                                                   Fashion                                                                       House and Garden                                                              Health                                                                        Interview                                                                     Magazine                                                                      Medical                                                                       Nature                                                                        News                                                                          Public Affairs                                                                Religious                                                                     Science                                                                       Self-Help                                                                     Shopping                                                                      Spanish                                                                       Travel                                                                        Variety                                                    ______________________________________                                    

Referring to Table I, each subcategory having more than one item caninclude the special subcategory "All." The subcategory "All" encompassesall programming matching the associated category. This is preferably thedefault subcategory when the subscriber changes categories by selectinganother category tile 62, which, in turn, resets the subcategory display54. The remaining items within the listing of subcategories are directlylinked to their respective category. For example, the subcategories"Business," "Comedy," and "Educational" are associated with the broadcategory of "Talk."

It will be appreciated that the present invention is not limited to thecategories and subcategories listed in Table I, which is a listing ofrepresentative categories and associated subcategories of programminginformation. Those skilled in the art will understand that programminginformation can be divided into numerous broad and narrow classes andthat the above-described system for retrieving and displayingprogramming information can be extended to other class-based listings ofprogramming information. Accordingly, the listing in Table I is notintended to be a comprehensive list of possible categories and relatedsubcategories of programming information.

Referring again to FIGS. 1-4, the user can use the program display 56 toview program items for available programs which match the class itemsreflected in the display panels of the category display 52 and thesubcategory display 54. The program tiles 66 of the program display 56are preferably displayed in sequential fashion based on the date andstart time of the represented programs. For the preferred embodiment ofthe schedule display 50, a program tile 66 representing programminginformation for a program available to the user on the present date isinitially displayed within the viewing panel 58. However, if thesubscriber scrolls through the program tiles 66, the subscriber can viewin chronological order the various scheduled program items which matchthe selected category and subcategory. By convention, scrolling theprogram tiles 66 up allows a user to view program tiles 66, if any,representing programs available to the user at a time later then theprogram represented by program tile 66 currently appearing within theviewing panel 58. In contrast, scrolling the program tiles 66 downallows a user to view program tiles 66, if any, representing programsavailable to the user at a time prior to the program associated with theprogram tile 66 currently appearing within the viewing panel 58.

Each program tile 66 represents information about a selected program andcan display the program title or name, the program date and start-time,and the channel number. Each program tile 66 also can include thenetwork name and the network symbol, which is typically implemented asan icon graphically representing the logo of the corresponding channelor network. For example, the program tile 66 appearing within theviewing panel 58 in FIGS. 2-4 shows the program title "NCAA Illinois vs.Indiana," the name and symbol for the network "ABC", the channel number"04", and the date and start time "Tuesday April 19 at 7:30 PM." For thetelevision application described herein, it will be appreciated that theprogramming information displayed by the program schedule generallycorresponds to programs that are scheduled for the viewing benefit ofthe user.

For the preferred program display 56, the program tiles 66 are sorted inchronological order and date and start time information are supplied byeach program tile 66.

The schedule display 50 also can include a program summary panel 90 tocommunicate detailed information about a selected program tile appearingwithin the viewing panel 58. For the preferred embodiment, the programsummary panel 90 is located near the top of the schedule display 50 andstretches horizontally along the top portion of each of the displays 52,54, and 56, thereby taking up approximately 1/3 of the schedule display50. The size of the program summary panel 90 is approximately 552×144pixels. For the preferred schedule display 50, the program summary panel90 is always available for viewing by the user, regardless of the typeor class of programming information selected by the user.

The information in the program summary panel 90 is preferably updated asthe subscriber changes the settings of the schedule display 50, i.e.,changing a selected tile appearing within the viewing panel 58 byscrolling one of the category display 52, subcategory display 54, orprogram display 56. This information update occurs in response to a"new" tile appearing within the viewing panel 58 and the expiration of adefault time-out period. The default time-out period prevents rapid andunnecessary updating of the program summary panel 90 while thesubscriber is scrolling the tiles of one of the displays 52, 54, or 56.

The preferred program summary panel 90 includes a preview section 92 anda text description section 94. The preview section 92, which has a sizeof 192×144 pixels, can show actual broadcast video data for a currentprogram, or preview media information, including an "on-demand" attractclip or a still graphic image, such as a program title screen or arepresentative scene of a selected program. In addition, synchronizedaudio can be played to supplement the still graphic image or video datapresented by the preview section 92. This allows a continuation of thebroadcast audio when the subscriber switches from a program channel thatdelivers a program to the schedule display 50 that presents schedulinginformation about available programs.

More specifically, for current programs, the preview section 92 providesan opportunity for the subscriber to easily identify and evaluate aselected program. For past and future programs, the preview section 92can display on-demand attract clips, which may be a more effectivemechanism for attracting viewers than text-only descriptions of theprogramming. In addition, still graphic images can be used if an actualbroadcast video signal for a current program or an on-demand attractclip is not available.

The preview section 92 can display an actual broadcast video signal ifthe current time is consistent with the time slot for the programrepresented by the selected program tile 66 appearing within the viewingpanel 58. This video display is sized to match the size of the previewsection 92. The actual broadcast video signal is supplied by a tuner,such as the tuner for the set-top converter 32 or the receiving device34, and is scaled to fit within the window display of the previewsection 92. The program represented by the selected program tile 66defines the absolute MSO channel and, in turn, this absolute MSO channeldesignates the tuning frequency for the tuner.

If the current time is not consistent with the time slot for theselected program tile 66, then the preview window of the preview section92 displays an on-demand attract clip or video preview, if one isavailable, scaled to fit within the preview window. The video data forthe on-demand attract clip data is preferably stored within a Tigervideo file, which is queued at the beginning of the file and playedthrough to the end of the file. The Tiger video file for the appropriateon-demand attract clip is retrieved in response to a pointer supplied bythe selected program tile. Each Tiger video file is preferably stored atthe location of the headend processor 14 and distributed in response toa request output by the subscriber's set-top converter 32.

If neither a current program broadcast video signal nor an on-demandattract clip is available for the selected program tile 66, a stillgraphic image can be scaled and displayed within the preview window ofthe preview section 92. Each graphic image is preferably stored at thelocation of the headend processor 14 within a bitmap file that is linkedto associated programming information maintained within the memorystorage device 12. In addition, audio voice-over or background musicstored within a .WAV file may be linked to this programming information.Alternatively, the audio voice-over or the background music can besupplied by a Tiger audio stream associated with the programminginformation. In either case, the selected program tile 66 appearingwithin the viewing panel 58 has a pointer that points to thecorresponding still graphic image, thereby linking the programminginformation to the appropriate graphic image.

For the preferred schedule display 50, a transition between previewinformation supplied by the preview section 92 is indicated by either afade to a selected color, such as dark gray, and a subsequent fade tothe preview image, or a direct fade to the preview image.

The text description section 94, which has a size of 360×144 pixels,presents detailed information about a selected program represented bythe program tile 66 appearing within the viewing panel 58. This textand/or graphic-based information typically cannot be presented withinthe smaller frame of a program tile 66 because of the requirement ofdisplaying more than one program tile within the limited availablescreen dimensions for a conventional display 38. The text descriptionsection 94 can include a program title 96 defining the name of theprogram and a program description 98 generally describing the nature ofthe program. In particular, the program title 96 preferably displays thefull name in bold typeface of the program associated with the selectedprogram tile 66 appearing within the viewing panel 58. The program title96 can be either a simple title naming the series or a compound titlenaming both a series and the title of a particular episode.

The program description 98 can display the full description of theselected program for the program tile 66 appearing within the viewingpanel 58. This program description 98 is preferably implemented as atext-based field capable of displaying various text attributes,including italic, bold, underline, and different fonts and point sizes.

The text description section 94 also can include one or more informationicons, which are graphical images representing particular types ofinformation, such as star ratings, closed captioning, rerun, audiencerating, etc. The bottom line of the text description section 94 ispreferably used to display such information icons as required to presentsecondary information. Because some programs may be associated with alarge set of information icons, the information icons are preferablyranked in order of priority to insure readability of the textdescription section 94. If display space is limited, this priorityranking scheme allows the most significant items of secondaryinformation to be displayed within the text description section 94.

For the example offered by the schedule display 50 of FIGS. 2-4, theprogram title 96 is "NCAA Basketball--Illinois vs. Indiana." and theprogram description 98 is "Henson's Fighting Illini meet up with BobbyKnight's Hoosier Team in this Big Ten Conference Matchup."

For the preferred schedule display 50, a transition between previewinformation supplied by the text description section 94 is indicated bya fade to a selected color, such as light ray, and a subsequent fade tothe text-based image.

For the representative example provided by the schedule display 50 ofFIGS. 2-4, the preview section 92 shows a graphic image of a basketballand the logo "NCAA" centered on the basketball. This graphic image isconsistent with the text presented within the text description section94, specifically "NCAA Basketball--Illinois vs. Indiana. Henson'sFighting Illini meet up with Bobby Knight's Hoosier Team in this Big TenConference Matchup."

FIGS. 6-8 illustrate another embodiment for the presentation ofprogramming information, the schedule display 50', which includes amodified version of a program display for displaying program-relatedinformation. FIG. 6 illustrates the focus frame 60 located proximate tothe category display 52, FIG. 7 illustrates the focus frame 60 locatedproximate to the subcategory display 54, and FIG. 8 illustrates thefocus frame 60 located proximate to the program display 56'. Focusingnow upon the alternative schedule display 50' of FIGS. 6-8, it will beseen that date information for program is not presented by each of theprogram tiles 66' of the program display 56'. Instead, the programdisplay 56' has been modified to include a date tile 80 containing dateinformation to distinguish programs tiles 66' that are associated with afirst date from program tiles 66' for a second date.

Data tiles 80 can be added to the program display 56' because theprogram tiles 66' for available programs are typically grouped inchronological order. Date tiles 80 are preferably the same size andshape as the program tiles 66', but contain only date-relatedinformation. For example, the format for a date tile 80 can be"Wednesday, April 20" to define a date context for the displayed programtiles. Unlike the program tiles 66', date tiles 80 cannot be selected bythe subscriber and, accordingly, date tiles 80 do not appear within theviewing panel 58. For example, if the last program for a date iscurrently selected, and the subscriber scrolls the program tiles 66'forward through time, the first program of the next date will appearwithin the viewing panel 58 and the associated date tile 80 will appearas the first tile immediately above the viewing panel 58.

The program display 56' also includes a date status indicator 82 toprovide additional date context for the program dates and timespresented by the date tiles 80. If a date tile 80 is scrolled off thetop of the program display 56', then the date status indicator 82displays the date associated with that particular date tile. Forexample, the date status indicator 82 for the schedule display 50 ofFIG. 6 shows the date information "Tuesday, April 19" because the datetile 80 associated with that date has already scrolled off the top ofthe program display 56'. If the subscriber continues to scroll throughthe program tiles 66' shown in FIG. 6, then the date tile for"Wednesday, April 20" will eventually scroll off the top of the programdisplay 56', thereby resetting the date of the date status indicator 82to that particular date.

Each program tile 66' represents information about a selected programand can display the program title or name, and the channel number. Eachprogram tile 66' also can include the network name and the networksymbol, which is typically implemented as an icon graphicallyrepresenting the logo of the corresponding channel or network. Ifdisplay space is available within the limited area of the program tile,then program information of secondary interest to the user can bepresented as information icons on the program tiles 66'. Informationicons, which are graphical images representing secondary informationitems, can be used to reduce the amount of text displayed by a programtile, thereby making it easier for the subscriber to locate and read theprogram titles. Information icons can represent a variety of secondaryprogram-related information, including the items of closed captioning,audience rating, awards, star rating. or reruns status. It will beunderstood that the use of information icons is an option for the userinterface supplied by the program schedule 50'.

FIG. 9 is a logical flow diagram illustrating the steps of the preferredmethod for retrieving and displaying programming information. Referringto FIGS. 1-4 and 9, the method starts at the START step 100 and proceedsto step 102 to select the presentation of the schedule display 50. Thesubscriber typically can select the display of the program schedule 50by instructing the set-top converter 32 or the receiving device 34 totune to a particular channel associated with the program guide system10. By changing from an actual broadcast channel to the channel for theprogram guide system 10, the schedule display 50 can be presented by thedisplay 38 for viewing by the subscriber.

In response to selecting the option of the schedule display 50, thesubscriber can select the desired category of programming information byscrolling the category tiles 62 of the category display 52 until thecategory tile 62 representing the selected category appears within theviewing panel 58. This preferably resets the subcategory display 54 todisplay subcategory tiles 64 representing subcategory items associatedwith the selected category. In turn, the subscriber can select a desiredsubcategory item in step 106 by scrolling the subcategory tiles 64 ofthe subcategory display 54 until a subcategory tile 64 representing theselected subcategory appears within the viewing panel 58. In step 108,an inquiry is conducted to determine whether a program is available thatcorresponds to the selected subcategory. If the response is positive,then the "YES" branch is followed to step 110. In step 110, the programdisplay 56 is preferably reset to display program tiles 66 representingavailable program items associated with the selected subcategory. Thisallows the subscriber to select programming information about a desiredprogram by scrolling the program tiles 66 of the program display 56until a program tile 66 representing the desired program appears withinthe viewing panel 58. In this manner, the subscriber views the selectedcategory, subcategory, and program items within the viewing panel 58 toobtain the desired programming information.

If the response to the inquiry of step 108 is negative, then the "NO"branch is followed to step 112. In step 112, the schedule display 50supplies an indication to the user that a program associated with theselected subcategory is not available. In response, the user can electto select either a new category or subcategory to obtain a new class ofprogramming information. If the user wishes to change the selectedcategory, the "YES" branch is followed from step 114 to step 104.Otherwise, the user can change the selected subcategory and the "NO"branch is followed to step 106.

The process concludes at the END step 116.

FIG. 10 is a flow chart diagram illustrating the steps of operation forthe preferred program display supplied by the program schedule system10. Referring now to FIGS. 1-4 and 10, operation of the program schedulesystem 10 starts at the START step 120 in response to the user'sselection of the display of the program schedule 50. In step 122, aninquiry is conducted to determine whether the user has previously usedthe program schedule system 10 by viewing the schedule display 50. Ifthe response is positive, then the "YES" branch is followed to step 124and the category display 52 is set to display the category tile 62representing the first possible category. For the preferred scheduledisplay 50, the category tile 62 presented within the viewing panel 58represents the category which appears first within the possiblecategories sorted in alphabetical order. In addition, the subcategorydisplay 54 is preferably set to display the subcategory tile 64representing the associated subcategory of "All." In contrast, if theresponse in step 122 is negative, then the "NO" branch is followed tostep 126 and the settings for the category and subcategory displays 52and 54 in the previous viewing session are selected.

From either step 124 or step 126, the process proceeds to step 128 toset the program display 56. Specifically, the program tile 66representing the program associated with the selected category andsubcategory and having the closest match with the current time and dateis selected to appear within the viewing panel 58. In this manner, eachof the displays 52, 54, and 56 is set and tiles representing category,subcategory, and program information appear within the viewing panel 58.

In step 130, programming information is retrieved and displayed withinthe text description section 94 of the program summary panel 90. Thisprogramming information can include both a text-based description of theprogram associated with the selected program tile 66 and informationicons for this program.

In step 132, an inquiry is conducted to determine if the programrepresented by the selected program tile 66 is a current broadcast. Ifso, the "YES" branch is followed to step 134 and the set-top converter32 is tuned to the appropriate program channel to display the broadcaststream within the preview section 92. In contrast, if the response tothe inquiry in step 132 is negative, then the "NO" branch is followed tostep 136. In step 136, preview media information, such as an on-demandattract clip or a still graphic image, is retrieved from the location ofthe headend processor 14 based upon the particular program representedby the selected program tile 66. In step 138, a determination is madewhether a Tiger video file is available for the selected program. If theresponse to the inquiry in step 138 is positive, the "YES" branch isfollowed to step 140. In step 140, the Tiger video file for the selectedprogram is cued and the Tiger video stream is displayed within thepreview section 92. Alternatively, if the response to this inquiry isnegative, then the "NO" branch is followed from step 138 to step 142. Instep 142, a digitized still graphic image for the selected program isretrieved and displayed within the preview section 92.

From step 140 or step 142, the process continues to step 144, in whichthe viewer can update the selected program displayed by the scheduledisplay 50 based upon the viewer's interests, as described with respectto the process of FIG. 9.

In step 146, an inquiry is conducted to determine whether the display ofthe program schedule 50 should be discontinued. For example, the programschedule session can be discontinued by changing the channel of theset-top converter 32 to a channel other than the channel for theschedule display 50. If the response is positive, the "YES" branch isfollowed to step 148 and the selected category, subcategory, andprogram-related information are stored. Otherwise, the process continuesby returning to step 130. The process concludes in step 150, the ENDstep.

In summary, the present invention provides a programming guide systemfor retrieving and displaying programming information for a subscriberof programming services. The programming information is typically storedat a location which is remote from the subscriber's location and isdistributed to the subscriber via a headend processor and a cabledistribution network. Each subscriber can then receive the programminginformation via a set-top converter that is connected to a receivingdevice, such as a television or a monitor. The monitor supports thedisplay of a schedule display that presents three classes of programminginformation, including categories, subcategories, and programs. Theschedule display includes three displays, a category display, asubcategory display, and a program display. Each display can display anarray of tiles representing corresponding programming information. Aviewing panel extends along each of the displays for displaying one eachof the category, subcategory, and program tiles. In response to acategory tile representing a selected category appearing within theviewing panel, the subcategory display displays at least one subcategorytile representing a subcategory associated with the selected category.Likewise, in response to a subcategory tile representing a selectedsubcategory appearing within the viewing panel, one program displaydisplays at least one program tile representing an available programassociated with the selected subcategory. This allows the subscriber toview the selected programming information within the viewing panel ofthe schedule display.

From the foregoing, it will be appreciated that the present inventionindeed fulfills the needs of the prior art described herein above andmeets the above-stated objects and advantages. While there has beenshown and described the preferred embodiment of the invention, it willbe evident to those skilled in the art that various modifications andchanges may be made thereto without departing from the spirit and thescope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims andequivalents thereof.

We claim:
 1. A method for retrieving and displaying electronicinformation relating to a category, a subcategory and programscheduling, comprising the steps of:selecting one of a plurality ofcategories of said electronic information by scrolling a categorydisplay displaying an array of category tiles representing saidcategories until one of said category tiles representing said selectedcategory appears within a viewing panel; selecting one of a plurality ofsubcategories of said electronic information by scrolling a subcategorydisplay displaying an array of subcategory tiles representing saidsubcategories until one of said subcategory tiles representing saidselected subcategory appears within said viewing panel, each of saidsubcategories being associated with at least one of said categories; andselecting one of a plurality of programs of said electronic informationby scrolling a program display displaying an array of program tilesrepresenting said programs until one of said program tiles representingsaid selected program appears within said viewing panel, each of saidprograms being associated with at least one of said subcategories,wherein said viewing panel extends along at least a portion of saidcategory display, said subcategory display, and said program display todisplay one each of said category tiles, subcategories tiles, andprogram tiles.
 2. The method recited in claim 1, wherein each of saidsubcategories is associated with said selected category, and each ofsaid selected programs is associated with said selected subcategory. 3.The method recited in claim 1, wherein selecting one of said categoriescauses said subcategory display to show at least one of said subcategorytiles representing one of said subcategories associated with saidselected category, and selecting one of said subcategories displaycauses said program display to show to at least one of said programtiles representing one of said programs associated with said selectedsubcategory.
 4. The method recited in claim 3, wherein scrolling saidprogram display moves chronologically through said program tilesrepresenting programs that are associated with said selectedsubcategory.
 5. The method recited in claim 1, wherein said step ofselecting one of said categories comprises:moving a focus frame alongsaid viewing panel to said category display, said focus frame operativeto supply an indication of user control of the display of said categorytiles when said focus frame is positioned along said category display;scrolling in a selected vertical direction said category tiles untilsaid category tile representing said selected category appears withinsaid viewing panel.
 6. The method recited in claim 1 wherein said stepof selecting one of said subcategories comprises:moving a focus framealong said viewing panel to said subcategory display, said focus frameoperative to supply an indication of user control of the display of saidsubcategory tiles when said focus frame is positioned along saidsubcategory display; scrolling in a selected vertical direction saidsubcategory tiles until said subcategory tile representing said selectedsubcategory appears within said viewing panel.
 7. The method recited inclaim 1, wherein said step of selecting one of said programscomprises:moving a focus frame along said viewing panel to said programdisplay, said focus frame operative to supply an indication of usercontrol of the display of said program tiles when said focus frame ispositioned along said program display; scrolling in a selected verticaldirection said program tiles until said program tile representing saidselected program appears within said viewing panel.
 8. The methodrecited in claim 1, wherein said array of category tiles and said arrayof subcategory tiles are maintained in alphabetical order forrepresented categories and subcategories.
 9. The method recited in claim1, wherein said array of program tiles is maintained in time-sortedorder for represented programs.
 10. The method recited in claim 1,wherein each of said program tiles comprises at least program name,program date and start time, and program channel.
 11. The method recitedin claim 1, wherein said program tiles are ordered in time-sorted orderfor represented programs, and said program display includes a pluralityof date tiles representing dates, each of said date tiles separatingsaid program tiles associated with one of said dates from said programtiles associated with another one of said dates.
 12. The method of claim11, wherein said program display further comprises a date statusindicator operative to display one of said dates associated with one ofsaid program tiles appearing within said viewing panel.
 13. The methodof claim 1, wherein said category display, said subcategory display, andsaid program display are operative to display at any particular intervalup to a predetermined number of said category tiles, said subcategorytiles, and said program tiles.
 14. A system for displaying electronicinformation relating to a category, a subcategory and programscheduling, comprising:a category display for displaying an array ofcategory tiles representing categories of said electronic information; asubcategory display for displaying an array of subcategory tilesrepresenting subcategories, each of said subcategories associated withat least one of said categories, said subcategory display indicatedadjacent to said category display; a program display for displaying anarray of program tiles, each of said programs associated with at leastone of said subcategories, said program display located adjacent to saidsubcategory display; and a viewing panel extending along a portion ofeach of said category display, said subcategory display, and saidprogram display for displaying one each of said category tiles,subcategory tiles, and program tiles, wherein said subcategory display,responsive to one of said category tiles representing a selectedcategory appearing within said viewing panel, displays at least one ofsaid subcategory tiles representing one of said subcategories associatedwith said selected category, and said program display, responsive to oneof said subcategory tiles representing a selected subcategory appearingwithin said viewing panel, displays at least one of said program tilesrepresenting an available one of said programs associated with saidselected subcategory.
 15. The system recited in claim 14, wherein saidarray of category tiles and said array of subcategory tiles aremaintained in alphabetical order for represented categories andsubcategories.
 16. The system recited in claim 14, wherein said array ofprogram tiles is maintained in time-sorted order for representedprograms.
 17. The system recited in claim 14, wherein each of saidprogram tiles comprises at least program name, program date and starttime, and program channel.
 18. The system recited in claim 14, whereinsaid program tiles are ordered in time-sorted order for representedprograms, and said program display includes a plurality of date tilesrepresenting dates, each of said date tiles separating said programtiles associated with one of said dates from said program tilesassociated with another one of said dates.
 19. The system of claim 18,wherein said program display further comprises a date status indicatoroperative to display one of said dates associated with said program tileappearing within said viewing panel.
 20. The system of claim 14, whereinsaid category display, said subcategory display, and said programdisplay are operative to respectively display up to a predeterminednumber of said category tiles, said subcategory tiles, and said programtiles.
 21. The system of claim 14, wherein said category tiles arestored within a database and are retrievable to support the display ofsaid category tiles by said category display.
 22. The system of claim21, wherein said subcategory tiles are stored within said database, andat least one of said subcategory tiles representing one of saidsubcategories associated with said selected category is retrieved fromsaid database in response to one of said category tiles representingsaid selected category appearing within said viewing panel.
 23. Thesystem of claim 22, wherein said program tiles are stored within saiddatabase, and at least one of said program tiles representing one ofsaid programs associated with said selected subcategory is retrievedfrom said database in response to one of said subcategory tilesrepresenting said selected subcategory appearing within said viewingpanel.
 24. A method for selecting and displaying electronic informationrelating to a category, a subcategory and program scheduling, comprisingthe steps of:selecting one of a plurality of categories of saidelectronic information by scrolling a category display displaying anarray of category tiles representing said categories until one of saidcategory tiles representing said selected category appears within aviewing panel; selecting one of a plurality of subcategories of saidelectronic information, each of said subcategories, being associatedwith said selected category, by scrolling a subcategory displaydisplaying an array of subcategory tiles representing said subcategoriesuntil one of said subcategory tiles representing said selectedsubcategory appears within said viewing panel; and selecting one of aplurality of programs of said electronic information, each of saidprograms being associated with said selected subcategory, by scrolling aprogram display displaying an array of program tiles representing saidprograms until one of said program tiles representing said selectedprogram appears within said viewing panel, wherein said viewing panelextends along at least a portion of said category display, subcategorydisplay, and program display and supplies a highlighted display one eachof said category tiles, said subcategory tiles, and said program tilesappearing within said viewing panel.
 25. The method recited in claim 24,wherein said array of category tiles and said array of subcategory tilesare maintained in alphabetical order for represented categories andsubcategories, and said array of program tiles is maintained intime-sorted order for represented programs.
 26. The method recited inclaim 24, wherein said program tiles are ordered in time-sorted orderfor represented programs, and said program display includes a pluralityof date tiles representing dates, each of said date tiles separatingsaid program tiles associated with one of said dates from said programtiles associated with a another one of said dates.
 27. The method ofclaim 24, wherein said program display further comprises a date statusindicator operative to display one of said dates associated with saidprogram file appearing within said viewing panel.
 28. In a computersystem having a user interface presented on a display device andresponsive to an input device, a method for presenting on said displaydevice electronic information relating to a category, a subcategory andprogram scheduling, comprising the steps of:displaying on said displaydevice a category display comprising a plurality of category tilesrepresenting categories of said electronic information; displaying onsaid display device a subcategory display comprising a plurality ofsubcategory tiles representing subcategories, each of said subcategoriesassociated with at least one of said categories, said subcategorydisplay located adjacent to said category display; displaying on saiddisplay device a program display for displaying comprising a pluralityof program tiles representing programs, each of said programs associatedwith at least one of said subcategories, said program display locatedadjacent to said subcategory display; displaying on said display devicea viewing panel extending along a portion of each of said categorydisplay, said subcategory display, and said program display fordisplaying one each of said category tiles, subcategory tiles, andprogram tiles; and displaying on said display device a focus frame,responsive to commands from the input device, movable along said viewingpanel and proximate to one of said category display, said subcategorydisplay, and said program display, for enabling control of thepresentation of one of said category tiles, subcategory tiles, andprogram tiles.
 29. The method of claim 28 further comprising the step ofdetermining if one of said category tiles representing a selectedcategory appears within said viewing panel and, if so, then displayingwithin said subcategory display one of said subcategory tilesrepresenting one of said subcategories associated with said selectedcategory.
 30. The method of claim 28 further comprising the step ofdetermining if one of said subcategory tiles representing a selectedsubcategory appears within said viewing panel and, if so, thendisplaying within said program display one of said program tilesrepresenting an available one of said programs associated with saidselected subcategory.
 31. The method of claim 30, wherein said categorytiles, subcategory tiles, and program tiles are stored within a databaseconnected to said computer system, and said step of displaying saidcategory display comprises retrieving said category tiles from saiddatabase and presenting one of said retrieved category tiles within saidcategory display.
 32. The method of claim 31, wherein said step ofdisplaying said subcategory display comprises (1) retrieving saidsubcategory tiles representing one of said subcategories associated withsaid selected category from said database in response to one of saidcategory tiles representing said selected category appearing within saidviewing panel, and (2) presenting one of said retrieved subcategorytiles within said subcategory display.
 33. The system of claim 32,wherein said step of displaying said program display comprises (1)retrieving said program tiles representing one of said programsassociated with said selected subcategory in response to one of saidsubcategory tiles representing said selected subcategory appearingwithin said viewing panel, and (2) presenting one of said retrievedprogram tiles within said program display.
 34. The method recited inclaim 33, wherein each of said program tiles comprises at least programname, program date and start time, and program channel.
 35. The methodrecited in claim 28 wherein said category display is responsive tocommands from said input device when said focus frame is placedproximate to said category display, and further comprising the step ofreceiving a first command to move said focus frame along said viewingpanel and, upon positioning said focus frame proximate to said categorydisplay, receiving a second command to scroll said category tiles ofsaid category display in alphabetical order.
 36. The method recited inclaim 28 wherein said subcategory display is responsive to commands fromsaid input device when said focus frame is placed proximate to saidsubcategory display, and further comprising the steps of receiving afirst command to move said focus frame along said viewing panel and,upon positioning said focus frame proximate to said subcategory display,receiving a second command to scroll said subcategory tiles of saidsubcategory display in alphabetical order.
 37. The method recited inclaim 28 wherein said program display is responsive to commands fromsaid input device when said focus frame is placed proximate to saidprogram display, and further comprising the steps of receiving a firstcommand to move said focus frame along said viewing panel and, uponpositioning said focus frame proximate to said program display,receiving a second command to scroll said program tiles of said programdisplay in chronological order.